Business As Usual
by 4PhoenixFeathers
Summary: Spoilers for Saiki K ch 280-281! After the short-lived incident with the meteor, Saiki returns to his school to tell his friends the truth. Things get a bit bumpy, and Saiki still has social interaction to deal with, but things quickly return to normal. Well, Saiki's personal stupid version of normal. Rated T just for safety.


**Alright, first Saiki K fic! I've noticed there weren't many fics about what happened after chapters 280-281 that shared my interpretation of the ending, so I wanted to write my own.**

**Be warned, there are spoilers for season 3 of the anime and the chapters of the manga I mentioned above. It hasn't come out yet, but from the trailers, I assume that the plot of the chapters will be in Saiki K Reawakened.**

**Thanks to UnicornPhoenix for beta reading my story!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Ψ-prising Reveal

The entire school was in chaos. Students flocked around anyone with a cell phone tuned in to the news. The voices of various newscasters could barely be heard over the mutters of unease and disbelief that permeated the halls of PK Academy.

Teruhashi Kokomi glanced towards the empty seat next to hers. She couldn't see it through the wall of students who were determined to comfort her, but she knew Saiki wasn't sitting there. He had mysteriously disappeared just before homeroom, and no one had seen him since. She sighed, and the mass of boys around her desk redoubled their efforts to lift her spirits. They only succeeded in worsening the sense that she was being closed in.

What could they even do? According to the reports, a meteor was headed straight for earth, one that was large and fast enough to take out Japan at the least. Worst case scenario, the whole earth could be wiped of life. Everyone had only two hours left to live, and a swarm of dedicated fans would not change that.

"Alright!" A loud and gruff voice exclaimed from behind Teruhashi. "Everyone leave Teruhashi at once! You are only making her more stressed. So, who here wants to be the one responsible for making her last few hours a living nightmare?" Kuboyasu Aren cracked his knuckles threateningly as the mob dispersed. Many of the boys were in tears at having to leave their goddess, but realizing that they were only making things worse gave them the strength to leave her side.

"Thank you Kuboyasu. That was getting..." Teruhashi cut herself off, thinking that a perfect pretty girl wouldn't talk so brashly about her supporters. "Out of hand," she concluded.

Kuboyasu simmered down, reigning in his anger. "It's no problem. Crowds are the last thing anyone would want right now. Although, as disastrous as that was, I think Mera and Yumehara would appreciate your company." He glanced over his shoulder to look behind him at said girls, who were currently leaning on each other.

Teruhashi nodded solemnly and went to join them. She hoped that wherever Saiki was, he would have the comfort he needed. In the meantime, she could seek comfort in her girlfriends.

Kuboyasu turned back to his best friends, still missing Saiki. Kaidou was visibly shaking and desperately trying to cook up a story about Dark Reunion's plan to get rid of him with a meteor strike while Nendou stared off into the distance through the window. The meteor wasn't visible yet, but Kuboyasu figured they would see it soon enough.

All of a sudden, the murmurs around the classroom seemed to die down. The students snapped to attention at the change in atmosphere, just in time to see Aiura doing one of her spontaneous rituals. In her hands, she held a piece of paper that she had just torn in half longways. Her closed eyes tightened in concentration as she walked to the window and tossed the halves out. She plucked a hair from her head and looked at the sky as she discarded the hair as well. The falling items were out of sight by the time Aiura opened her eyes and spun around twice on the spot. The class looked on with rapt attention, already used to the fortune teller's eccentric practices.

Aiura gasped, and her face lit up like the sun. Tears filled her eyes, but she was beaming.

Before she could even tell of what she saw, the silence ended as yells of astonishment came from a student's cell phone.

_"This just in! The meteor has been destroyed! Astronomists around the world are dumbfounded as the meteor has just been absolutely obliterated. No one has any idea what just happened, but it seems the Earth is saved!"_ The astonished reporter yelled something about seeing his family again, and the class erupted in cheers. Cries of relief were heard throughout the building as students and teachers alike rejoiced.

Kuboyasu turned back to look out the window, only to see a rain of pebbles no larger than marbles falling from the sky. They fell fast and looked red hot, but they could only do as much damage as a hail storm. Kuboyasu let out a sigh of relief that bordered on being a chuckle. Kaido walked up behind Kuboyasu and set a hand on his shoulder.

"Dark Reunion has been foiled again." Kaidou's voice was still shaky, but his delusional comment was enough to signal to Kuboyasu that he would be fine.

"Oh, I forgot my umbrella." Nendou piped up from his seat.

"The world almost ended and you're worried about an umbrella!?" Kaidou whipped around to yell at him. Kuboyasu smiled and went back to his seat.

* * *

In all the chaos of that morning's incident, the school was closed for the day. No one wanted to stay after the near-death experience they shared.

A certain group of students who considered themselves Saiki's friends stayed behind. Everyone who wasn't in the same class as Saiki had filed in sometime after the dismissal had been announced, most stating that they wanted to make sure everyone was all right. Even Saiko was shaken, forgetting to call everyone "peasants" for once. A strange sense of foreboding was compelling them to stay, but no one brought it up.

Akechi walked in last, and Hairo made the mistake of asking how he was holding up. The classroom full of oddballs groaned as Akechi started to ramble about existentialism and the inevitability of death. By the time Saiki interrupted him, the gang had already begrudgingly received the entire biography of Albert Camus in a thirty-second rant.

"Saiki!" Teruhashi gasped, rushing forward to hug the pink-haired boy who just made his entrance. Saiki dodged her advance effortlessly, not wanting to let her get physical. "You got your old look back! I like it."

Teruhashi blushed when she realized what she said. Her mind derailed onto a loop of 'oh god why' and Saiki hated every second of it. This was going to be a long day for sure. Saiki sighed and braced himself for the impending talk.

_Hello._ Saiki projected to the group.

"Hey," Kuboyasu said, glad to see Saiki. "What happened to you this morning? After you found my keys, you disappeared."

"Still can't believe it was only this morning…" Kaidou grumbled.

_I had something I needed to take care of._

Saiki walked over to the front of the classroom and sat on the teacher's desk. He looked almost as tired as he was when they got off the plane to Okinawa last year.

'Or was it the year before that?' Kaidou thought to himself. It felt like longer than that… He pushed the thought aside. Saiki looked like he had something to say. Why else would he come back to school?

Saiki met Aiura's eyes. Privately, he asked her if she foresaw anyone spilling his secret in the future. After glancing at her crystal ball, she shook her head no. Saiki then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

_I'm sure you all remember when I called you here last week._

"Yeah, we didn't forget how you stood us up, man. Not cool." Kaidou snapped at him, but it had all the ferocity of a kitten.

"Ah, don't be like that, runt. Buddy probably had a good reason." Nendou responded, smirking lightly at Kaidou's annoyance.

_Good grief, you guys are such a handful. Something came up. I thought I could avoid telling you this until it was all over but… _Saiki thought back to his epiphany earlier. _Now is as good a time as any._

"Tell us what Saiki?" Teruhashi asked, thinking about what Saiki could possibly be hiding.

_Stop interrupting._ This was supposed to be Saiki's moment, they didn't have to make it harder for him. _I'm trusting you all with my greatest secret here. What I tell you will not leave this group._

That shut them up. At least, their mouths closed. Their thoughts only got louder as they nodded in affirmation.

_I am an Esper. In other words, I have psychic powers._

"Saiki…" Kuboyasu looked at him skeptically. "Do you have chuunibyou?"

_Absolutely not._ Without preamble, Saiki lifted the desk he was sitting on. With his limiter back on, his powers were more willing to cooperate than that morning, so the demonstration went off without any mass destruction. He set himself back down after a few seconds and several looks of disbelief.

Kaidou was the first to recover. "Just what I expected from my greatest ally against Dark Reunion."

_About that…_

Teruhashi paled. "Can you…" She couldn't finish her sentence, but Saiki heard her loud and clear.

_Yes, I can read minds. Unfortunately, I can't turn it off. I'm sorry for invading your privacy, but I literally can't stop it._

Kuboyasu gaped at Saiki. "Wait, the meteor… was that you? Did you destroy it?"

_Yes._

Pandemonium. Saiki sighed again. He was definitely going to reward himself with some expensive coffee jelly later.

"Saiki?" Chiyo spoke up for the first time that day. "Why did you keep this from us?"

Saiki didn't react, his expression was deadpan as always. _I was going to tell you last week. I used to think my powers were nothing but a nuisance, so I got rid of them. However, before I came to tell you everything, my powers reactivated. I was in denial about it for the past week, but I wanted to wait until things settled down to tell you._

Saiki turned and looked out the window. The pebble rain had stopped, and the sun was high in the sky. He was furious when he discovered his powers could be coming back, but now Saiki finally realized that his powers weren't such a bad thing. They were a pain in the neck, but he was ultimately better off with them.

_They didn't settle down, and they never will. My powers are here to stay, so there's no reason to put it off._

"Aww, buddy, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say!" Nendou grinned and congratulated Saiki.

_Shut up. It's a special occasion, don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with you guys now. Lying was such a pain._

"What powers do you have?" Kaido's face lit up and he asked the inevitable question.

_Psychokinesis, cryokinesis, pyrokinesis, electrokinesis, hydrokinesis, apportation, teleportation, levitation, bilocation, transformation, restoration, petrification, hypnosis, invisibility, mind control, precognition, clairvoyance, x-ray vision, curse, astral projection, memory alteration, psychometry, super strength, and time travel._

The group gaped at him. Saiki internally snorted, wondering if their faces will eventually stick like that.

Saiki kept a neutral face as he listened to his friends mull over the revelation. Knowing he was a psychic was one thing, knowing he was nearly omnipotent was another. He listened on as the puzzle pieces started to slot together in their minds and they remembered times when Saiki had used his powers to interfere in their lives. He was sure they would have so many questions for him later. On top of that, he would have to apologize for the trouble he caused.

Saiki stood, tired in multiple ways after the physical and mental strain of the day's events. Saiki opened his mouth and spoke to his friends for the first time in this timeline.

"I swear, you guys are so troublesome. I'll see you tomorrow." His voice cracked from disuse, but the group got his point. Saiki owed them for stealing the moment they shared on the volcano, so he paid it back here. He left them with a soft and tired smile.

In a blink, Saiki was in his bedroom. His friends' minds were gone, replaced by his parents downstairs and the relieved celebrations of his neighbors. Saiki sent a small message telling his parents he was home safe, knowing their tendency to worry, and flopped on his bed. He was asleep in seconds.


End file.
